CarriageWorks
& Central North Eveleigh Precinct
An
Overall Heritage Interpretation Strategy
ATP Precinct
The Blacksmith Shop
Campaign and the resultant lease has refocused the heritage issues here back to
the consents given when the Australian Technology Park (APT) was established
and the heritage study and plan that went with it. The task on this part of the
site is to get this material much more public and to campaign for the ATP to
fulfil its heritage obligations across the ATP controlled area. The Blacksmith Shop will remain in active heritage use within the
ATP at least for now.
Specific players
in this part of the site still are RWA / ATP & Minister Kristina Keneally as Redfern Waterloo Minister. The
four Universities have an interest in the New Locomotive Workshop.
The Large Erecting Shop (LES)
Management of the LES looks set to stay with RailCorp at
least for a few years until the endeavour Centre is surplus to requirements.
The 12 storey planning control developed by the RWA will continue to hang over
it should it become surplus to RailCorp requirements.
The Government still continues to deny any Heritage Act
provision to provide assessment of what is occurring at Eveleigh even though it
is on the State Heritage Register. The National Trust & the Friends of
Eveleigh have active applications for heritage protection at a Federal
Government level and are waiting on a response from Minister Garrett. This LES
has no protection and getting this has to be a priority.
The campaign at the moment has to be to minimise damage from
RWA / RailCorp core sampling through the building floor and to maintain active
heritage uses in the building.
The main threat to this precinct currently is that RailCorp
will try and force out active rail heritage from the LES and instead use it to
store the carriages they have to move from North Eveleigh.
Once it becomes a storage shed active rail use will be dead at this location. The building, its rail heritage use, the
skills and the benefits that this rail workshop can bring to an important
heritage site like Eveleigh, is still at high risk of being lost to the NSW
public forever.
There has been no worthwhile response from any of the
Ministers although the National Trust has identified the Large Erecting Shop as of high heritage significance in its working
condition for some two years now. The
LES needs protection as a working railway heritage workshop in perpetuity.
Specific players
are the current users / occupants (3801 Ltd and Powerhouse Museum), volunteers
for both organisations, Friends of Eveleigh, National Trust (NSW), Federal and
State Heritage bodies, Unions interested in apprentice training, Office of Rail
Heritage, Minister for Transport David Campbell & Minister Volunteering
Graham West..
CarriageWorks & Central North
Eveleigh Precinct
This has already been determined by the CarriageWorks (Arts NSW) and North Eveleigh
Blacksmith’s (RWA/ATP) DA proposals and heritage reports. The RWA’s North
Eveleigh Concept Plan Heritage Interpretation Strategy should link this central
area with rest of site that also has an rail heritage arts potential.
Specific players
are CarriageWorks Ltd and its
tenants, Premier Rees who visited
recently as Minister for the Arts and minister Assisting the Minister of the
Arts Virginia Judge. On the Blacksmith shop it is the RWA with market
administration through ATP.
North Eveleigh (Balance)
The future of this site was determined initially by the
government’s earlier decision not to use the site for a rail museum and now by
RailCorp to divest the site and put the income towards the refurbishment of a
Redfern Station upgrade. The first heritage issue following from this is the
requirement to move all mobile rail heritage items from the site (currently in
the Paint Shop) prior to sale of the
bulk of the site by the RWA.
Currently there is concern about where movable heritage
items might go and how this might impact active heritage operations at the LES.
The future of the heritage buildings are being determined by
RWA’s Concept Plan, the heritage study that was part of it and a currently non
public Heritage Interpretation Strategy which the RWA says will lay down
principles for those that buy the site to use in developing their Heritage
Interpretation Strategies.
The future of built heritage on this site is being
determined by the RWA’s Preferred Concept Plan (being finalised) and the Department’s
Approval conditions for the Concept Plan.
The buyers of the site will need to put forward their own
detailed proposals for the site including their Heritage Interpretation Strategy.
Provided they keep within the envelope approved any approvals on the Concept
Plan will flow through automatically to this stage. The University may be one
of these buyers.
Specific players
in this area include Heritage Rail volunteers in the paint shop, and other site
tenants, surrounding residents, RailCorp, RWA, The Department of Planning, Kristina Keneally as Minister responsible for
Planning, Redfern Waterloo and Heritage and possibly Minister Volunteering
Graham West (Paint Shop volunteers) and
City of Sydney who would take over public domain following redevelopment.
Redfern Railway Station
It was NSW’s oldest public convenience on platform 1 at
Redfern that was used by Minister Sartor to argue the need for the RWA’s powers
to be able to override the Heritage Act. It supposedly stands in the way of the
upgrade of Redfern Station. Funds from sale of North
Eveleigh will go towards the station Upgrade. A lot of work has
happened on this but options and plans have not been made public. RailCorp is
currently working up the business case for funding to top up what the North Eveleigh sale contributes. Plans will not become
public until cabinet signs off on proposal and funding is allocated.
Specific players
include, RailCorp, RWA, RTA, DoP, Cabinet, Kristina
Keneally and surrounding businesses, residents and University of Sydney whose students and staff are
major users of the station.
An Overall Heritage Interpretation Strategy
A Heritage Interpretation Strategy that links all the old
rail yards together would seem to be a broader objective so we do not have a
number of disparate heritage interpretation strategies. This is also important
for promoting heritage walks and tourism of the active heritage areas that
survive “urban renewal”. The RWA call their proposed pedestrian and bicycle
bridge between North Eveleigh and the ATP the
“Heritage Walk” but currently there is no overall Heritage Plan for how all the
elements fit together. Dr Lucy Taksa proposal for a workers wall based on the Eveleigh
Employee register could also fit into such a strategy.
Specific players
RWA, ATP, RailCorp and whoever buys into the North Eveleigh site and Kristina Keneally as Minister for Redfern Waterloo
and Minister responsible for the Heritage Office.